• CLARA Analytics
• Counterpart
• Empathy
• Federato
• Hyperexponential
• INSTANDA
• OutSystems
• Pinpoint Predictive
• Replicant
• Tremendous
• Upstage

We’ve used generative AI, combined with our proprietary data on these companies and their markets, to create the following scouting reports — in just one click on CB Insights.

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Now, the strategic question for insurers isn’t whether to adopt generative AI but how quickly.

We’ve developed 6 predictions — informed by CB Insights datasets, including financing and acquisition data, Business Relationships, Earnings Transcripts, and Exit Probability — that we think will guide competitive dynamics over the coming year:

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While AI copilots have already made inroads across industries, the next evolution — autonomous agents with greater decision-making scope — is arriving quickly. AI agent startups raised $3.8B in 2024 (nearly tripling 2023’s total), and every big tech player is already developing AI agents or offering the tooling for them.

Implications for enterprises will be far-reaching, from altering workforce composition (with new hybrid teams of humans and AI agents) to maximizing operational efficiency through full automation of routine tasks. 

Below we identify 170+ promising startups developing AI agent infrastructure and applications. 

CBI customers: Track 250+ AI agent companies

We selected companies for inclusion based on Mosaic health scores (500+) and/or funding recency (since 2022). We included private companies only and organized them according to their primary focus. This market map is not exhaustive of the space.

Want to be considered for future AI agent research? Brief our analysts to ensure we have the most up-to-date data on your company. 

Outlook on AI agents

Fully autonomous agents remain limited due to issues pertaining to reliability, reasoning, and access. Most agent applications today operate with “guardrails” — within a constrained architecture where, for example, the LLM-based system follows a decision tree to complete tasks. 

Agents featured on this map include some combination of the following components: 

• Reasoning: Foundation models that enable complex reasoning, language understanding, and decision-making. These models evaluate information and form the cognitive core of the agent.
• Memory: Systems that store, organize, and retrieve both short-term contextual information and long-term knowledge.
• Tool use: Integration capabilities that allow agents to interact with external applications, APIs, databases, the internet, and other software. 
• Planning: The agent’s architecture for breaking down complex tasks into more manageable steps, reflecting on performance, and adapting as necessary.  

We expect more startups to move up the scale of autonomy as AI capabilities advance. Improvements in reasoning and memory will enable more sophisticated decision-making, adaptability, and task execution.

For example, in September 2024, legal AI startup Harvey announced that OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model, supplemented with domain-specific knowledge and data, was enabling it to build legal agents. The company, which raised $300M at a $3B valuation in February 2025, has doubled its sales force in the last 6 months, indicating rising market demand.

While the above market map highlights the private landscape (with a focus on enterprise applications), tech giants and incumbents are also launching agents. We predict big tech and leading LLM developers will own general-purpose AI agents, but there are many opportunities for smaller, specialized players. 

Looking ahead, watch for new form factors outside of the copilot/chatbot interface that will push the boundaries of what an “agent” is. Early indications of this include “AI-native” workspaces — tools and platforms built from the ground up around AI capabilities, rather than layering AI features on top of a traditional product. For instance:

• Eve’s legal platform aims to automate aspects of the whole case lifecycle (from case intake to drafting). 
• Hebbia’s Matrix product builds spreadsheets that mine information from files (in rows) and deliver answers to questions (in columns), proactively discovering, organizing, and surfacing data.
• With its Dia product, The Browser Company is exploring web browsing interfaces that can summarize content, automate repetitive web tasks, and even anticipate next actions.

Category overview

AI agent infrastructure

This segment covers companies building agent-specific infrastructure. (We excluded general genAI infrastructure markets like foundation models and vector databases from the map.)

Development tools

A diverse ecosystem of tools has emerged to support agents’ development. These range from memory frameworks like Letta that enable persistent, retrievable memory across interactions; to tools that allow agents to take action via integration (e.g., Composio), authentication (e.g., Anon), and browser automation (e.g., Browserbase).

Another set of companies is giving agents more utility across payments (which includes companies developing crypto wallets for agents as well as virtual cards) and voice (development platforms and tools for testing AI voice applications as well as speech models).

Meanwhile, demand for simplified, comprehensive deployment options is driving the rise of AI agent development platforms — the most crowded infrastructure market on our map. 

LLM developers including Cohere (with its North AI workspace) and Mistral have launched their own agent development frameworks, while Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia all offer AI agent development tooling. With many enterprises favoring established vendors due to lower risk, big tech companies have significant advantages here.

Trust & performance

Concerns around reliability and security have helped establish a market for agent evaluation & observability tools. Early-stage companies are targeting applications such as automated testing (e.g., Haize Labs) and performance tracking (e.g., Langfuse). 

Multi-agent systems, where specialized sub-agents work together to complete tasks, also show promise in improving accuracy. Insight Partners-backed CrewAI’s multi-agent orchestration platform is reportedly already used by 40% of the Fortune 500. 

Vendors are also tackling reliability concerns directly. Based on our briefings with 20+ AI agent startups in Q1’25, companies are using 5 primary methods to build user trust: 

1. Transparency
2. Human oversight
3. Technical safeguards
4. Security & compliance
5. Continuous improvement 

Horizontal applications & job functions

Horizontal AI agent startups make up nearly half of the map and overall landscape. 

This segment primarily features startups targeting enterprises, with industry-agnostic applications across job functions like HR/recruiting, marketing, and security operations. Companies in the productivity & personal assistants market, including OpenAI with its Operator agent, are targeting consumers and employees directly.  

The AI agent markets with the most traction — based on companies’ median Mosaic health scores — are customer service and software development (which includes coding and code review & testing agents). These markets are also among the most crowded due to the value agents bring to well-defined workflows and testable environments. 

We see this reflected in adoption, particularly at the customer service layer: Among 64 organizations surveyed by CB Insights in December 2024, two-thirds indicated they are using or will be using AI agents in customer support in the next 12 months. 

Overall, horizontal AI agent applications are more commercially mature compared to the infrastructure and vertical segments, with over two-thirds of the market deploying or scaling their solutions based on CBI Commercial Maturity scores. 

Vertical (industry-specific) applications

We expect increasing verticalization as startups carve out niches by solving industry-specific customer problems, especially in areas with strict regulatory scrutiny and data sensitivity.

This category features companies catering to industries including: 

• Financial services & insurance: The most crowded vertical category on the map with 11 companies, startups here are targeting a variety of finserv workflows such as financial research (Boosted.ai and Wokelo), insurance sales & support (Alltius and Indemn), and wealth advisory prospecting & operations (Finny AI and Powder). 
• Healthcare: Solutions in this market aim to reduce the volume of manual tasks for healthcare professionals across use cases like clinical documentation, revenue cycle operations, call centers, and virtual triage. Solutions from companies like Thoughtful AI (revenue cycle operations) and Hippocratic AI (staffing marketplace) are targeting end-to-end healthcare workflows. 
• Industrials: These companies look to optimize processes and equipment — including control systems, robots, and other industrial machines — without relying on consistent human intervention. For example, Composabl launched an agent platform in May 2024 that uses LLMs to create skills and goals for agents that can control industrial equipment. Public companies like Palantir are also active in this space. Learn more in our industrial AI agents & copilots market map. 

RELATED RESEARCH

• What’s next for AI agents? 4 trends to watch in 2025
• The enterprise AI agents & copilots market map
• The Multi-Agent AI Outlook
• Future of the workforce: How AI agents will transform enterprise workflows

For information on reprint rights or other inquiries, please contact reprints@cbinsights.com.

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Just 113 investors made at least 2 equity insurtech investments during the year — a 72% drop from the high of 406 investors in 2021. As a result, insurtech dealmaking dropped to 362 deals, the lowest annual total since 2016.

Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of insurtech.

Key takeaways from the report include:

• Insurtech dealmaking and funding continue to decline. Deal count fell 28% year-over-year (YoY) to 362 deals in 2024, while funding dropped 4% to $4.5B. Insurtech deals and funding are both at recent lows.
• Quarterly funding to P&C insurtechs is in the gutter. P&C funding dropped 43% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) to $0.4B in Q4’24 — a 7-year low — with annual funding also declining to $2.6B. The year’s 2 largest deals in P&C went to AI-focused startups Altana AI and Akur8, highlighting investors’ appetite for specialized AI opportunities.
• Silicon Valley is dethroned as insurtech’s funding capital. Silicon Valley’s share of global insurtech funding dropped dramatically from 20% in 2023 to 10% in 2024, surpassed by New York at 15%. This was the first time since 2018 that Silicon Valley wasn’t No. 1.
• Early-stage insurtechs raise record-high deal sizes. The median early-stage insurtech deal size surged 52% YoY to $3.8M in 2024 — outpacing the broader venture landscape — as investors concentrate on a more selective group of innovators.
• Recently funded insurtechs show stronger business fundamentals and more efficient growth trajectories. Insurtechs that raised funding in 2024 have grown employee headcounts by a median of 20% over the last 12 months, far surpassing the 3% growth among those that raised during the funding boom of 2021.

Insurtech dealmaking and funding continue to decline

Insurtech deal count fell 28% YoY, from 500 deals in 2023 to 362 in 2024. The decline outpaced the broader venture environment, which saw deal count fall 19% YoY. 2024 was the worst year for insurtech dealmaking since 2016 (328 deals).

Deal volume among leading investors has also decreased. The number of investors that made 5 or more equity insurtech investments has fallen from 57 in 2021 to just 7 in 2024. Those that remain active now operate in a more favorable environment due to reduced competition across the marketplace.

Insurtech funding declined in 2024 as well, though by only 4% YoY. 

CBI customers: Track 2.5K+ insurtech companies

Quarterly funding to P&C insurtechs is in the gutter

Q4’24 marked a 7-year low for P&C insurtech funding, which fell 43% QoQ to $0.4B. The decline caused broader insurtech funding to halve QoQ, from $1.4B in Q3’24 to $0.7B in Q4’24.

P&C deal count also fell 10% QoQ to 45 in Q4’24, the lowest level since Q2’16.

Annual P&C insurtech funding declined to $2.6B in 2024, a 7-year low, underscored by just 2 P&C insurtech startups raising $100M+ mega-round deals: Altana AI, which offers an AI-powered supply chain risk platform, and Akur8, an AI-powered pricing platform. Those deals signal appetite for specialized AI products for the insurance industry, coinciding with a global surge in AI funding to over $100B last year.

Comparatively, life & health insurtech saw an increase in annual funding and dealmaking. Funding increased 64% YoY to $1.8B in 2024, while deals ticked up from 126 in 2023 to 128 in 2024.

Silicon Valley is dethroned as insurtech’s funding capital

The share of global insurtech funding to Silicon Valley-based startups halved YoY, falling from 20% in 2023 to 10% in 2024. Comparatively, New York led the way with 15% of global insurtech funding share in 2024, more than doubling from 7% the year prior.

Silicon Valley is the world’s leading tech ecosystem, and venture-wide funding to the region’s startups soared last year amid a boom in AI investment. Given the ecosystem’s prominence, diminished insurtech activity in Silicon Valley could lead to missed opportunities for insurance-focused AI advancements.

See how Silicon Valley fared in the broader venture market

Early-stage insurtechs raise record-high deal sizes

The median insurtech deal size increased from $4.1M in 2023 to $5.2M in 2024.

The increase was fueled by early-stage insurtechs, which saw median deal size surge 52% YoY, from $2.5M in 2023 to $3.8M in 2024. The size and growth rate both beat out the broader venture environment, where early-stage deal size increased 17% YoY to $2.1M.

Combined with the broader decline in dealmaking, larger check sizes indicate that investors are concentrating their investments on fewer bets. For the insurance industry, this dynamic points to a slimmer insurtech landscape with fewer high-growth participants moving forward.

On the other hand, late-stage insurtech deal sizes declined 19% YoY from $40M in 2023 to $32.5M in 2024.

The decline coincides with a restricted exit environment: Insurtech M&A exits fell from 57 in 2023 to 35 in 2024. 

Nevertheless, notable exits include CCC Intelligent Solutions’s acquisition of EvolutionIQ in December at a valuation of $730M, as well as Applied’s purchase of Planck in July. Both acquisitions targeted genAI-enabled startups, signaling a broader appetite for genAI insurance offerings.

Recently funded insurtechs show stronger business fundamentals

Insurtechs that raised funding in 2024 are growing headcounts faster than other insurtechs, by a median of 20% over the last 12 months and 40% over the last 24 months.

Comparatively, median headcount growth among insurtechs that raised a funding round at the height of the funding boom in 2021 is marginal — just 3% over the last 12 months.

The higher growth rates of recently funded insurtechs suggest a new breed of companies with stronger fundamentals — they’re not only able to raise capital in a selective market but are also demonstrating more efficient growth than their 2021-funded counterparts.

By the same logic, investors and partners (like established brokers and carriers) should monitor the landscape for outliers that represent organic growth opportunities — such as insurtechs that haven’t raised funding in several years but continue to grow headcount at a steady clip.

See the fastest-growing insurtechs by headcount growth

MORE INSURTECH RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS

• How genAI is reshaping the insurance value chain
• Insurtech 50: The most promising insurtech startups of 2024
• ITC Vegas 2024: Insurance is facing an AI inflection point
• Tech Transforming the World: The Game Changers Roundtable

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Companies are responding by developing solutions like fire surveillance drones to better monitor wildfires, as well as firefighting robots to minimize the severity when they occur. In fact, over 500 US fire departments have already deployed surveillance drones.

To help companies and governments understand the current wildfire tech landscape, we mapped 130 companies across 15 markets. We then organized tech markets by the wildfire lifecycle: 

• Prevention & preparedness: Solutions in this category help forecast extreme weather events — including wildfires — and assess their damage potential. We break this category down into: 1) broader climate & weather risk; and 2) wildfire risk, which includes solutions specifically designed for wildfires.
• Detection & monitoring: These solutions use cameras, sensors, and analytics platforms to detect outbreaks early and track their progression to aid firefighting strategies.
• Firefighting: These technologies — such as drones and robots — support the suppression of wildfires or help create firebreaks to limit their spread.
• Damage assessment: This includes solutions to evaluate the destruction caused by wildfires after they occur.

Please click to enlarge.

To identify players for this market map, we included startups with a Mosaic score of 400 or greater and leading corporations developing wildfire tech. Categories are not mutually exclusive and are not intended to be exhaustive.

Track Mosaic health scores for companies in these markets

Market descriptions

Click the market links below for info on the leading companies, funding, and more.

Prevention & preparedness: Climate & weather risk

Climate & weather financial risk modeling focuses on quantifying the financial impacts of climate change and severe weather events, helping businesses forecast and mitigate monetary losses. Leading companies like Bloomberg and Morningstar serve many industries, from agriculture to insurance to government.

Geospatial analytics analyzes and interprets geographic data (e.g., satellite imagery, GIS) for various industries, providing spatial insights and risk assessments. Startups in this market have raised a combined $508M since 2023 — the most funding of any market in this map.

Weather risk intelligence emphasizes real-time weather monitoring and predictive modeling to reduce operational disruptions and manage day-to-day weather-related risks.

Climate risk intelligence provides deeper analysis of long-term climate change hazards, guiding strategic decision-making and resilience planning for businesses and governments.

Prevention & preparedness: Wildfire risk

Catastrophe modeling simulates large-scale natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, earthquakes) to estimate potential losses, primarily for insurance and reinsurance purposes.

Wildfire risk intelligence zeroes in on wildfire hazards with analytics and forecasting tools, helping organizations anticipate fire spread and prioritize mitigation. This market has the highest average company Mosaic health score (662 out of 1,000) among wildfire-specific tech markets.

Detection & monitoring

Wildfire detection cameras use specialized imaging (thermal, infrared) to spot fire signatures early and relay alerts from fixed vantage points.

Wildfire detection sensors are ground-based devices that monitor environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, smoke) to detect potential fires in real time.

Fire surveillance drones provide aerial monitoring of wildfires using sensors like thermal imaging, enhancing situational awareness and firefighter safety. Companies in this market typically offer drones for a wider set of applications beyond wildfires. For example, Skydio, which has raised $400M since 2023, serves industries such as industrial inspection and defense, in addition to fire surveillance.

Wildfire detection & monitoring platforms integrate satellite/aerial data, IoT sensors, and AI in a software platform to track and predict wildfire behavior at scale. ICEYE and Pano AI rank as leading startups here, offering solutions for enterprises and governments through platforms that use advanced imaging systems and AI models to predict potential wildfire locations and facilitate real-time detection and monitoring.

Firefighting

Firefighting drones actively suppress fires by delivering water or fire-retardant agents, often equipped with thermal imaging to pinpoint hotspots. This is among the most nascent markets in the map, with 89% of deals since 2023 going to early-stage companies.

Firefighting robots are ground units equipped with sensors and suppression tools (e.g., water cannons), enabling safer and more efficient fire combat in hazardous areas.

Autonomous heavy equipment encompasses self-operating machinery (e.g., bulldozers, loaders) used in construction, mining, or creating firebreaks, reducing human risk.

Damage assessment

Drone inspection & damage assessment uses drones to capture high-resolution imagery of properties for quicker, more accurate insurance claims evaluations.

Aerial & satellite claims assessment leverages imagery from planes or satellites to evaluate property damage — often focused on large-scale or remote loss scenarios.

RELATED RESOURCES FROM CB INSIGHTS:

• Weather risk intelligence funding surges as extreme weather events pile up 
• Wildfires are causing insurers to leave markets. Can wildfire risk analytics reverse this trend? 
• The Aerospace & Space Tech expert collection
• The Insurtech expert collection
• The satellite & geospatial tech market map
• The AI in defense tech market map

For information on reprint rights or other inquiries, please contact reprints@cbinsights.com.

The post The wildfire tech market map appeared first on CB Insights Research.

However, global CVC deal count dropped to its lowest level since 2018 as CVCs become more selective.

Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of CVC across sectors, geographies, and more.

Key takeaways from the report include:

• CVC-backed funding grows, deal activity slows. Global CVC-backed funding increased 20% YoY to $65.9B, but deal count fell to 3,434, the lowest level since 2018. All major regions saw deal volume declines, with Europe dropping the most at 10% YoY.
• CVCs are all in on AI. AI startups captured 37% of CVC-backed funding and 21% of deals in 2024 — both record highs. Counter to the broader decline in deals, CVCs ratcheted up AI dealmaking by 13% YoY as they race to secure footholds in the space before competitors gain an insurmountable edge.
• The flight to quality continues. Among deals with CVC participation, the annual average deal size hit $27.3M in 2024, tied for the second highest ever. Amid fewer deals, CVCs are increasingly aggressive when they do decide to invest.
• Early-stage deals dominate. Early-stage rounds comprised 65% of 2024 CVC-backed deals, tied for the highest share in over a decade. Biotech startups made up half of the top 20 early-stage deals.
• CVC-backed funding plummets in Asia. In 2024, Asia’s CVC-backed funding dropped 34% YoY to $7B — the lowest level since 2016. China is leading the decline, with no quarter in 2024 exceeding $0.5B in funding. CVCs remain wary of investing in the country’s private sector.

We dive into the trends below.

CVC-backed funding grows, deal activity slows

Global CVC-backed funding reached $65.9B, a 20% YoY increase. The US was the main driver, increasing 39% YoY to $42.8B. Europe also saw CVC-backed funding grow 18% to $12.3B, while Asia declined 34% to $7B.

$100M+ mega-rounds also contributed to the rise, ticking up 21% YoY to 141 deals worth over $32B in funding.

Meanwhile, deal count continued its decline, as both annual (3,434 in 2024) and quarterly (806 in Q4’24) totals reached their lowest levels in 6 years.

Annual deal volume fell by at least 6% YoY across each major region — the US, Asia, and Europe — with Europe experiencing the largest decline at 10%.

However, Japan-based CVC deal volume remains near peak levels, suggesting a more resilient CVC culture compared to other nations. Two of the three most active CVCs in Q4’24 are based in Japan: Mitsubishi UFJ Capital (21 company investments) and SMBC Venture Capital (15).

Track recent activity from 1,000+ CVCs

CVCs are all in on AI

AI is driving CVC investment activity, much like the broader venture landscape. In 2024, AI startups captured 37% of CVC-backed funding and 21% of deals, both record highs.

In Q4’24, the biggest CVC-backed rounds went primarily to AI companies. These include:

• AI search startup Perplexity’s $500M Series C, backed by Nvidia’s NVentures 
• Coding AI copilot Poolside’s $500M Series B, backed by the venture arms for Citigroup, HSBC, Capital One, LG, eBay, and Nvidia
• AI computing processor developer Lightmatter’s $400M Series D, backed by GV

CVCs are also investing in the energy companies powering the AI boom, such as Intersect Power, which raised the largest round at $800M (backed by GV).

Expect the trend to continue into 2025, as emerging AI markets mature further, such as AI agents & copilots for enterprise and industrial use cases; AI solutions for e-commerce, finance, and defense; and the computing hardware necessary to power these technologies.

The flight to quality continues

In 2024, the annual average deal size with CVC participation reached $27.3M, a 34% YoY increase and tied for the second highest level on record, exceeded only by the low-interest-rate environment of 2021.​

Median deal size also increased, though only by 8% to $8.6M.

Even though the number of CVC-backed deals declined in 2024, the increase in average annual deal size reflects a focus on companies with strong growth prospects. CVCs are prioritizing quality and committing more funds to a select group of high-potential investments.

Early-stage deals dominate

Early-stage rounds (seed/angel and Series A) made up 65% of CVC-backed deals in 2024, tied for the highest recorded level in more than a decade.​

In Q4’24, biotech companies were the early-stage fundraising leaders, accounting for 10 of the 20 largest early-stage deals. Biotech players City Therapeutics, Axonis, and Trace Neuroscience all raised $100M+ Series A rounds, with City Therapeutics and Axonis notably receiving investment from the venture arms of Regeneron and Merck, respectively.

Among all early-stage CVC-backed companies, the largest round went to Physical Intelligence, a startup focused on using AI to improve robots and other devices. Physical Intelligence raised a $400M Series A with investment from OpenAI Startup Fund.

Explore CVCs’ top early-stage company targets in Q4

CVC-backed funding plummets in Asia

Asia’s CVC-backed funding continued its downward trend in 2024, decreasing 34% YoY to $7B.

China was the main driver, with CVC-backed funding coming in at $0.5B or less every quarter in 2024.​ CVCs remain wary of investing in startups in the nation, which faces a variety of economic challenges, including a prolonged real estate slump, cautious consumer spending, strained government finances, and weakened private sector activity amid policy crackdowns.

In Japan, on the other hand, CVC activity remains robust. In 2024, funding with CVC participation ($1.7B) remained on par with the year prior, while deals (502) actually increased by 11%.

MORE VENTURE RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS

• State of Venture 2024 Report
• State of Fintech 2024 Report
• State of Digital Health 2024 Report

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Venture funding surged past the $100B mark for the first time as AI infrastructure players pulled in billion-dollar investments. A wave of M&A deals and rapidly scaling AI unicorns further underscored the tech’s momentum.

Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of AI across exits, top investors, geographies, and more.

Key takeaways include: 

• Massive deals drive AI funding boom. AI funding hit a record $100.4B in 2024, with mega-rounds accounting for the largest share of funding we’ve tracked to date (69%) — reflecting the high costs of AI development. Quarterly funding surged to $43.8B in Q4’24, driven by billion-dollar investments in model and infrastructure players. At the same time, nearly 3 in 4 AI deals (74%) remain early-stage as investors look to get in on the ground floor of the AI opportunity. 
• Industry tech sectors lose ground in AI deals. Vertical tech areas like fintech, digital health, and retail tech are securing a smaller percentage of overall AI deals (declining from a collective 38% in 2019 to 24% in 2024). The data suggests that companies focused on infrastructure and horizontal AI applications are drawing greater investor interest amid generative AI’s rise.
• Outside of the US, Europe fields high-potential AI startup regions. While the US dominated AI funding (76%) and deals (49%) in 2024, countries in Europe show strong potential in AI development based on CB Insights Mosaic startup health scores. Israel leads with the highest median Mosaic score (700) among AI companies raising funding. 
• AI M&A activity maintains momentum. The AI acquisition wave remained strong in 2024, with 384 exits nearly matching 2023’s record of 397. Europe-based startups represented over a third of M&A activity, cementing a 4-year streak of rising acquisitions among the region’s startups. 
• AI startups race to $1B+ valuations despite early market maturity. The 32 new AI unicorns in 2024 represented nearly half of all new unicorns. However, AI unicorns haven’t built as robust of a commercial network as non-AI unicorns, per CB Insights Commercial Maturity scores, indicating their valuations are based more on potential than proven business models at this stage.
• Tech leaders embed themselves deeper in the AI ecosystem. Major tech companies and chipmakers led corporate VC activity in AI during Q4’24, with Google (GV), Nvidia (NVentures), Qualcomm (Qualcomm Ventures), and Microsoft (M12) being the most active investors. This reflects the strategic importance of securing access to promising startups while providing them with essential technical infrastructure.

We dive into the trends below.

For more on key shifts in the AI landscape in 2025, check out this report on the implications of DeepSeek’s rise.

Massive deals drive AI funding boom

Globally, private AI companies raised a record $100.4B in 2024. At the quarterly level, funding soared to a record $43.8B in Q4’24, or over 2.5x the prior quarter’s total. 

The funding increase is largely explained by a wave of massive deals: mega-rounds ($100M+ deals) accounted for 80% of Q4’24 dollars and 69% of AI funding in 2024 overall.

The year featured 13 $1B+ deals, the majority of which went to AI model and infrastructure players. OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic raised 4 out of the 5 largest rounds in 2024 as they burned through cash to fund the development of frontier models. 

Overall, the concentration of funding in mega-rounds reflects the high costs of AI development across hardware, staffing, and energy needs — and widespread investor enthusiasm around the AI opportunity. 

But that opportunity isn’t limited to the largest players: nearly 3 in 4 AI deals (74%) were early-stage in 2024. The share of early-stage AI deals has trended upward since 2021 (67%) as investors look to ride the next major wave of value creation in tech.

CBI Customers: Track 15,000+ AI companies

Industry tech sectors lose ground in AI deals

Major tech sectors — fintech, digital health, and retail tech — are making up a smaller percentage of AI deals.

While the overall annual AI deal count has stayed steady above 4,000 since 2021, dealmaking in sectors like digital health and fintech has declined to multi-year lows. So, even as AI companies make up a greater share of the deals that do happen in these industries, the gains haven’t been enough to register in the broader AI landscape.

The data suggests that, amid generative AI’s ascendancy, AI companies targeting infrastructure and horizontal applications are drawing a greater share of deals. 

With billions of dollars flowing to the model/infra layer as well, investors appear to be betting that the economic benefits of the latest AI boom will accrue to the builders.  

Outside of the US, Europe fields high-potential AI startup regions

Although US-based companies captured 76% of AI funding in 2024, deal activity was more distributed across the globe. US AI startups accounted for 49% of deals, followed by Asia (23.2%) and Europe (22.9%). 

Comparing median CB Insights Mosaic scores (a measure of private tech company health and growth potential on a 0–1,000 scale) for AI companies that raised equity funding in 2024 highlights promising regional hubs. 

Explore 500+ high-potential AI startups

European countries dominate the top 10 countries by Mosaic score (outside of the US). Israel, which has a strong technical talent pool and established startup culture, leads the pack with a median Mosaic score of 700.

Overall activity on the continent is dominated by early-stage deals, which accounted for 81% of deals to Europe-based startups in 2024, a 7-year high.

The European Union indicated in November that scaling startups is a top priority, pointing to the importance of increased late-stage private investment in remaining competitive on the global stage.

AI M&A activity maintains momentum

The AI M&A wave is in full force, with 2024’s 384 exits nearly reaching the previous year’s record-high 397.

Acquisitions of Europe-based startups accounted for over a third of AI M&A activity in 2024. Among the global regions we track, Europe is the only one that has seen annual AI acquisitions climb for 4 consecutive years. Although the US did see a bigger uptick YoY (16%) in 2024, posting 188 deals. 

In Europe, UK-based AI startups led activity in 2024, with 32 M&A deals, followed by Germany (18), France (16), and Israel (12). 

Major US tech companies, including Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, and Salesforce, participated in some of the largest M&A deals of the year as they embedded AI across their offerings.

Search for recently funded AI companies with high M&A probabilities

AI startups race to $1B+ valuations despite early market maturity 

AI now dominates new unicorn creation. The 32 new AI unicorns in 2024 accounted for nearly half of all companies passing the $1B+ valuation threshold during the year. 

These AI startups are hitting unicorn status with much smaller teams and at much faster rates than non-AI startups: 203 vs. 414 employees at the median, and 2 years vs. 9 years at the median. 

CBI Customers: Dive into data on every unicorn

These trends reflect the current AI hype — investors are placing big early bets on AI potential. Many of these unicorns are still proving out sustainable revenue models. We can see this clearly in CB Insights Commercial Maturity scores. More than half of the AI unicorns born in 2024 are at the validating/deploying stages of development, while non-AI new unicorns mostly had to get to at least the scaling stage before earning their unicorn status.

Tech leaders embed themselves deeper in the AI ecosystem

In Q4’24, the top corporate VCs in AI (by number of companies backed) were led by a string of notable names: Google (GV), Nvidia (NVentures), Qualcomm (Qualcomm Ventures), and Microsoft (M12). 

As enterprises rush to harness AI’s potential, big tech, chipmakers, and other enterprise tech players are building their exposure to promising companies along the AI value chain.

Meanwhile, startups are linking up with these players to not only secure funding for capital-intensive AI development but also access critical cloud infrastructure and chips.

MORE AI RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS

• What DeepSeek’s model releases mean for the future of AI
• Here’s how leading strategy teams are successfully driving generative AI adoption in their organizations
• The foundation model divide: Mapping the future of open vs. closed AI development
• 15 tech trends to watch closely in 2025
• Inside the AI drug discovery arms race: Record M&A activity, a biologics funding spree, and more
• The industrial AI agents & copilots market map

For information on reprint rights or other inquiries, please contact reprints@cbinsights.com.

The post State of AI Report: 6 trends shaping the landscape in 2025 appeared first on CB Insights Research.

However, some positive signals are emerging, including growing deal sizes and a pickup in M&A, with a focus on cybersecurity capabilities.

Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of fintech across sectors, geographies, and more.

Key takeaways from the report include:

• Fintech dealmaking continues downward trend in 2024. Annual fintech deals and funding both dropped to 7-year lows in 2024. While deals dropped by 17% YoY to a total of 3,580, funding fell by 20% to $33.7B.
• One positive signal: bigger deals. The median fintech deal size increased to $4M in 2024 — marking a 33% jump YoY — with deal sizes rising across every major global region. Across fintech sectors, the biggest jump occurred in banking, where the median deal size rose by 70% YoY to reach $8.5M. Though fintech saw fewer deals overall in 2024, the increase in deal sizes suggests that investors are writing bigger checks for companies with compelling growth potential.
• M&A activity is also picking up. Fintech M&A exits jumped 24% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) to 189 in Q4’24, with Stripe’s $1.1B purchase of stablecoin platform Bridge marking the quarter’s largest deal. Overall, fintech saw a total of 664 M&A exits in 2024 (up 6% YoY) as financial services companies sought to diversify their capabilities and build full-service platforms.
• Mature banking companies are catching the eyes of investors. Banking saw mid- and late-stage deals rise to 38% of its total deal volume in 2024 (vs. 21% in 2023), outpacing the 4 percentage point increase in fintech more broadly. Uncertainty about new banking technology and regulatory volatility — particularly among banking-as-a-service players — is likely driving investors to more proven solutions.
• Payments tech ends 2024 as a bright spot. Five of the top 10 equity deals in Q4’24 went to companies building payments solutions, from mobile payments apps to cross-border payments enablement tools to platforms digitizing B2B payments. This concentration of large deals within payments tech reflects the ongoing push to digitize commerce and business exchanges. 

We dive into the trends below.

Fintech dealmaking continues downward trend in 2024

In 2024, annual fintech funding and dealmaking both decreased YoY, hitting 7-year lows.

However, there are signs that the fintech market is steadying. The annual decline in funding was fintech’s smallest in 3 years. Meanwhile, at the quarterly level, funding rebounded to close the year strong, increasing 11% QoQ to reach $8.5B in Q4’24.

One positive signal: bigger deals

While there are fewer fintech deals overall, deal sizes are climbing. 

Following 2 consecutive years of decline, the median deal size in fintech jumped 33% YoY in 2024.

Across fintech sectors, banking saw the biggest jump in median deal size in 2024 — a 70% YoY increase to $8.5M. 

This shift reflects increased investor selectivity in the current market. Companies that pass more rigorous due diligence are attracting larger investments, even as overall deal volume remains constrained.

CBI customers: Track 20K+ fintech companies

M&A activity is also picking up

Fintech M&A deals jumped 24% QoQ in Q4’24. 

US-based companies captured 8 of the largest 10 deals, including the top 5. Stripe’s $1.1B acquisition of Bridge was the largest of the quarter.

The quarterly increase points to broader stirrings of an M&A resurgence: for the year, fintech M&A exits rose by 6% YoY to 664 deals in 2024. 

Acquirers are boosting capabilities across functions. For instance, Stripe’s purchase of stablecoin platform Bridge gives the company a stronger standing in the reinvigorated market for digital assets and boosts its cross-border payment capabilities. The deal also emphasizes stablecoins’ growing role in driving accessibility and stability within crypto’s current wave.

Bolstering cybersecurity was also a focus for acquirers in Q4’24, pointing to financial services companies’ push to integrate fraud detection in their product offerings. For example, in November 2024, IT company N-able bought Adlumin, which deploys its solutions to financial firms, to enhance its cybersecurity capabilities. In October, Socure — specializing in digital identity verification — acquired Effectiv to enhance its AI-driven fraud detection capabilities.

Search recently funded fintech companies with high M&A probabilities

Mature banking companies are catching the eyes of investors

Early-stage deals made up a larger share of fintech investment activity in 2022-23, suggesting that investors shifted their focus toward nascent innovation requiring smaller capital commitments during the market slowdown.

The trend shifted in 2024, particularly in the banking sector. While mid- and late-stage deal share rose by 4 percentage points YoY across fintech broadly, it jumped 17 percentage points in banking. 

See 140+ high-potential mid- and late-stage startups

Recent volatility in banking-as-a-service — such as Synapse’s bankruptcy in April — and intensified regulatory scrutiny are likely driving investors to more proven solutions.

Payments tech ends 2024 as a bright spot

Five of the 10 biggest fintech deals in Q4’24 went to payments companies, capping a relatively strong quarter for the sector. Despite a YoY decline, funding to payments companies rose by 20% QoQ to $1.8B in Q4’24.

Argentina-based mobile payments company Ualá secured a $300M Series E in Q4’24, tying home equity release firm Splitero for the largest round of the quarter.

Of the top payments deals, two went to companies automating accounts payable and other aspects of B2B payments (Melio and ASAAS). The opportunity to digitize B2B payments continues to expand, especially since businesses in many geographies still rely on manual processes.

B2B payments tech market ranking

Related resources from CB Insights:

• State of Venture 2024 Report
• 15 tech trends to watch closely in 2025
• Fintech 100: The most promising fintech startups of 2024
• The generative AI in financial services market map
• Prioritizing B2B payments tech: How 9 tech-driven markets stack up across maturity and momentum

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But beyond the momentum building in AI, global deal activity plunged 19% YoY to its lowest level since 2016, creating both challenges and opportunities for investors and corporate strategists.

Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of venture across sectors, geographies, and more.

Key takeaways from the report include:

AI is eating VC. In 2024, AI represented 37% of venture funding and 17% of deals — both all-time highs. AI infrastructure players raised all of the top 5 venture deals of the year, with 4 closing in Q4’24 alone — driving a 2-year high in quarterly funding. With nearly 3 in 4 (74%) AI deals being early-stage in 2024, investors are staking out early claims to reap the rewards of the tech’s potential.

Aside from AI, venture dealmaking is in a drought. Globally, deal activity fell 19% YoY to 27K in 2024 — its lowest annual level since 2016. The drop was most pronounced in countries like China (-33% YoY), Canada (-27%), and Germany (-23%). However, several countries in Asia — Japan, India, and South Korea — have bucked the downward trend. Their resilience suggests attractive investment conditions.

AI and industrial automation are common themes among the fastest-growing tech markets. Out of 1,400+ tech markets that CB Insights tracks, those with the highest rate of YoY deal growth include enterprise AI agents, genAI for customer support, industrial humanoid robots, and autonomous driving systems. Expect these technologies to continue maturing in 2025, increasing their disruptive potential.

Despite market uncertainty, early-stage valuations hit a record-high median of $25M in 2024. Investors are packing into early-stage rounds to ride the next major wave of value creation in tech, likely drawn by startups’ ability to now build products with less capital and fewer people thanks to AI tools and infrastructure. However, early-stage startups could face a reality check when they try to raise later-stage rounds if they have yet to prove they can sustain growth. Although mid- and late-stage deal valuations rebounded slightly vs. 2023, they remain muted compared to 2021 and 2022.

IPO timelines get delayed. From first funding to IPO, VC-backed companies that went public in 2024 waited a median of 7.5 years — 2 years longer than in 2022. Amid unfavorable market conditions, some late-stage players like Stripe and Databricks have resorted to raising additional equity funding or selling private shares in lieu of going public. This allows them to create liquidity for early investors and employees when the path to a public debut is rocky.

We dive into each trend below.

AI is eating VC

The 5 largest deals of the year all went to AI model and infrastructure players (led by Databricks’ $10B Series J, followed by a $6.6B round for OpenAI, two $6B rounds for xAI, and a $4B round for Anthropic). But the activity isn’t limited to the largest, most well-resourced AI players. 

Across the board, AI companies are capturing a higher share of deal volume — nearly one in 5 deals (17%) now go to AI companies, almost triple the share from 2015 (6%). AI deal volume remained above 4,000 for the fourth year in a row. 

CBI customers: Track 15,000+ AI companies

The boom is providing tailwinds for every stage of the startup lifecycle, from early-stage companies — which take 3 out of 4 deals in AI — to startup exits. The AI M&A wave is in full force, with 2024’s 384 exits nearly rivaling the previous year’s record-high 397.

This trend will continue in 2025 as incumbents look to grab AI tech and talent and build end-to-end AI offerings. Get the full breakdown of what AI M&A means for corporate strategy in our Tech Trends 2025 report.

In Q4’24, the AI boom helped fuel a substantial rebound in global funding. The quarter’s funding tally reached $86.2B — a 2-year high, and an increase of 53% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ).

60% of that quarterly total, or $52B, came from mega-rounds (deals worth $100M+) — nearly tying Q1’21 (61%) for the highest share ever across venture. 

At the same time, quarterly deal volume steadily declined throughout 2024, including slipping below 6,000 in Q4’24 for the first time since 2016.

Aside from AI, venture dealmaking is in a drought

Despite AI’s surge, most venture sectors face their worst dealmaking drought in nearly a decade, forcing investors to adjust their strategies. Many investors are taking a more selective and risk-off approach right now as they wait out macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical tensions.

Among major dealmaking countries and regions (those seeing 500+ deals per year), the slump was most pronounced in China (-33% YoY drop in deals), Canada (-27%), and Germany (-23%). 

However, several countries in Asia bucked the trend and notched slim YoY gains: Japan (+2%), India (+1%), and South Korea (+1%). These countries have invested heavily in developing their startup ecosystems and may be benefiting indirectly from investors diverting funds away from China.

AI and industrial automation are common themes among the fastest-growing tech markets

AI and industrial automation are at the center of some of the fastest-growing markets in tech.

We filtered CB Insights’ 1,400+ tech markets for those with at least 20 equity deals over the last 2 years, then singled out those with the strongest deal growth YoY in 2024.

The enterprise tech and industrials sectors dominate, comprising 9 of the top 10 tech markets. Advancements in generative AI are fueling much of the activity in areas like humanoid robots and autonomous driving systems. Investors are also backing tech companies improving industrial processes like water treatment and purification, with deals to the market more than doubling YoY.

The enterprise tech and industrials sectors are also seeing a wave of hiring, as they lead in YoY headcount growth among all sectors. Industrials markets saw an average of 11% headcount growth last year, followed by enterprise tech markets with 10%. 

Financial services and the consumer & retail industries are noticeably absent from the top 10 fastest-growing markets. Given the tough venture landscape, emerging technologies in these areas face an uphill battle.

CBI Market Index: Compare 1,400+ markets

Early-stage deals are showing strength

Globally, early-stage dealmaking represents one of the most vibrant areas of venture right now, with median deal size and valuation reaching all-time highs in 2024.

The seed/angel and Series A stages remain resilient despite the broader downturn, in part because investors view them as a safe haven to ride out late-stage challenges like constricted exit opportunities and capital constraints. Deal sizes and valuations for the mid- and late stages rebounded slightly vs. 2023 but were muted when compared to the boom times of 2021 and 2022.

Corporate strategy and development teams seeking out early-stage opportunities can see 900+ high-potential startups here. To identify these players, we looked at the nearly 11,000 VC-backed startups that raised seed or Series A rounds in 2024, then filtered for those with the healthiest businesses (600+ Mosaic score) and strongest management teams (600+ Management Mosaic score).

Explore 900+ high-potential early-stage startups

IPO timelines get delayed

Most tech firms continue to shirk the IPO market. Some are still waiting for macroeconomic conditions to stabilize, while others prefer to focus on topline growth without having to deal with the financial scrutiny that comes with being a public company.

This is pushing back the timelines for IPO-ready companies even further. 

From first funding to IPO, VC-backed companies that went public in 2024 waited a median of 7.5 years — 2 years longer than in 2022.

While Q4’24 saw an uptick in global IPOs, activity remains down vs. historical levels. In the current climate, many late-stage startups will likely opt instead to raise more private funding to sustain operations and pay out employees or early investors.

Search for recently funded companies with high IPO probabilities

Related resources from CB Insights:

• Live briefing on venture trends for 2025
• All AI research from CBI
• 15 tech trends to watch closely in 2025
• Game Changers 2025: 9 technologies that will change the world
• $1B+ Market Map: The world’s 1,249 unicorn companies in one infographic

The post State of Venture 2024 Report appeared first on CB Insights Research.

But the overall slowdown only tells part of the story. Within this smaller pool of new billion-dollar companies, AI startups have come to dominate, comprising 44% of new unicorns this year — a 7x increase in share over the last decade.

Here’s what today’s unicorn landscape signals about the future of tech:

• AI dominates new unicorn creation — 2024 has seen 72 companies become unicorns, and 32 of these (44%) are AI startups. These AI players are reaching unicorn status far faster (median of 2 years) than non-AI companies (median of 9 years). As AI capabilities advance at a rapid pace — across domains from intelligent robotics to coding AI agents — corporations that delay AI adoption risk falling behind their competitors.
• Valuations are under pressure — Over one-third of the 1,200+ current unicorns haven’t raised funding since 2021, and over 100 of these companies were last valued at exactly $1B — meaning a down round would take their unicorn status away altogether. These represent potentially distressed assets that cash-rich incumbents and corporate development teams would want to snap up.
• Next in line for an exit — Among today’s unicorns, 110 stand out with IPO probabilities above 20% (anywhere from 31x to 64x that of the average company we track). Another 25 have equally high M&A probability scores, making them prime acquisition targets for incumbents looking to expand their tech and market reach.

Market map of billion-dollar startups

On paper, today’s unicorns are collectively worth over $4T. 

However, it’s unlikely that many of these 1,200+ companies are worth as much as their latest valuation, given how dramatically the venture landscape has changed since the heady days of 2021/22. Since then, tighter capital markets have applied downward pressure on public and private tech company valuations alike.

Over one-third of current unicorns haven’t raised a funding round since 2021. If they were to raise in today’s climate, they’d likely face a valuation cut. That includes over 100 unicorns that were last valued at exactly $1B — meaning any valuation reduction would strip them of their unicorn status.

CBI customers: Dive into data on every unicorn

With venture funding at its lowest level since 2016/17, unicorns in need of cash are likely considering an exit. Some have been waiting years for the IPO market to open up so they can access capital and compensate employees without further diluting their business. Others will need to accept sales at discounted prices.

Unicorns most likely to exit via IPO or M&A

Per CB Insights’ Exit Probability scores — which measure a company’s likelihood to exit in the next 2 years, based on 70+ data points — a select cohort of unicorns emerges as the most likely candidates for IPO and M&A. 

110 unicorns have a 20% or higher chance of IPO’ing in the next 2 years — anywhere from 31x to 64x the likelihood of the average company we track. Recent tech IPOs have performed well relative to the cold snap of 2022/23, particularly for companies benefiting from the AI boom. This will likely open the doors to other IPO hopefuls like Klarna, which is reportedly considering debuting as soon as H1’25.

A smaller segment of unicorns has an M&A exit probability of 20%+ (from 2x to 5x the average). This includes unicorns like AI data company Tresata (38% M&A probability) and fleet management & telematics provider Radius (33%), both of which have faced headcount reductions over the last year.

These acquisition targets could offer incumbents a way to quickly add new tech and talent as well as expand their customer base and market reach.

See the IPO and M&A probabilities for every unicorn

AI has become a unicorn factory

The current AI boom is a driving force behind new unicorn creation. 

In 2024 so far, 44% of new unicorns have been AI companies. This is by far the highest share that AI has seen over the past decade, representing over 7x growth during that time (from 6% in 2015).

What’s more, these AI startups are hitting unicorn status with 1) much smaller teams and 2) at much faster rates.

Among new unicorns in 2024, the median AI unicorn has just 203 employees and reached unicorn status in 2 years from its founding date. For comparison, the median non-AI company to become a unicorn did so with double the team size (414 employees) and a much longer life-span (9 years).

The size of these AI teams — and the speed with which they attain unicorn status — points to several underlying factors. For one, today’s AI startups may be able to do more with less — they can use their AI expertise to automate certain functions and scale faster with less staffing than a non-AI company. 

But there’s a likely bigger factor at play: With the current pace of AI advances, alongside the sheer amount of AI hype, AI startups are able to earn investors’ attention earlier and with less to show for their business than non-AI companies. The AI opportunity means many of these startups can bank on fast revenue growth, though it’s unclear how sustainable that is — or when, if ever, that revenue will translate into profit. 

Nevertheless, the breadth of the AI opportunity — across industries, business models, and audiences — means that there is still plenty of white space for these startups to carve out niches.

Among this year’s new unicorns, some of the smallest AI teams include:

• World Labs: 18 employees (founded 2024, valued at $1B)
• Skild AI: 19 employees (founded 2023, valued at $1.5B)
• Sakana AI: 34 employees (founded 2023, valued at $1.5B)
• Cognition AI: 49 employees (founded 2023, valued at $2B)
• Poolside: 75 employees (founded 2023, valued at $3B)

Notably, these startups point to several emerging areas of opportunity in AI:

Intelligent robotics and embodied AI — Both World Labs and Skild AI are working toward making AI systems that can better understand and interact with the physical world. This is also an area where OpenAI is getting involved, via investments in other unicorns like Figure and Physical Intelligence.

Coding AI agents & copilots — Cognition AI and Poolside both focus on automating software engineering. Equity funding to coding AI agents & copilots has exploded this year, nearly tripling to reach $1.8B.

RELATED RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS:

• 15 tech trends to watch closely in 2025
• State of Venture Q3’24 Report
• Future of the workforce: How AI agents will transform enterprise workflows
• Future Tech Hotshots: 52 emerging tech startups that will have big, successful exits

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Explore AI-focused exhibitors and sponsors from the conference

This AI focus reflects a new reality for insurers: Incumbents will need to move quickly to evaluate emerging AI products or risk being left behind by fast-moving competitors.

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Q3’24 also saw the most selective dealmaking environment in years, although there were notable bright spots — in the early stages of funding, in the life & health insurance segment, and among France’s insurtechs.

Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of insurtech across sectors, geographies, and more.

Below, we cover key shifts in the landscape, including:

Quarterly insurtech funding holds mostly steady from Q2’24, at $1.4B. In Q3, the funding was evenly split across both P&C and life & health (L&H) segments — one of just 3 quarters since 2020 where L&H insurtechs have rivaled P&C for quarterly funding.

Insurtech fared better in Q3’24 than the broader venture environment, which saw funding decrease 20% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). In fact, on a year-over-year basis, insurtech funding grew in Q3 by 27%.

A majority of insurtech funding goes to $100M+ mega-round deals for the first time since Q3’22. Q3’24 saw mega-round funding and deals — $0.8B across 5 deals — surge to a 2-year high.

Altana AI, which offers a supply chain risk platform, raised the largest insurtech equity deal in 2024 so far ($200M Series C) from investors including Google Ventures and Salesforce Ventures. The deal valued Altana AI at $1B, making it the first new insurtech unicorn of 2024 so far. Insurtechs that offer Medicare Advantage plans raised 2 of the other mega-round deals, Devoted Health ($112M Series E) and Zing Health ($140M Series A).

Insurtech deal count falls to an 8-year low. Q3’24 saw global insurtech deal count decline to 77, falling 10% QoQ and 42% YoY. Q2’16 was the last quarter to see fewer insurtech deals (60). 

Even so, the drop is in line with a broader decline in venture dealmaking. Also, across insurtech and the broader venture environment, the percentage of deals by deal stage (i.e., early, mid-, late, or other) has been without drastic swings in recent years.

The median early-stage insurtech deal size has reached a record high, increasing from $2.5M in 2023 to $4M in 2024 so far. This signals that investors remain bullish on early-stage dealmaking despite the broader decline in funding and deals. 

Comparatively, the median early-stage insurtech deal size only reached $3M in 2022 amid the venture funding boom.

Three of the 10 largest insurtech deals in Q3’24 were early-stage.

France-based insurtechs raise 83% of Europe’s insurtech funding in Q3. Five France-based insurtechs raised a combined $385M in Q3’24, including mega-round deals for health insurer Alan ($193M Series F) and pricing platform Akur8 ($120M Series C). 

Globally, only insurtechs from France and the US appeared among the 10 largest insurtech deals of the quarter.

RELATED RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS:

• State of Venture Q3’24 Report
• State of Insurtech Q2’24
• Insurtech 50: The most promising insurtech startups of 2024
• How genAI is reshaping the insurance value chain
• Game Changers 2025: 9 technologies that will change the world
• Tech Transforming the World: The Game Changers Roundtable (Webinar)

The post State of Insurtech Q3’24 Report appeared first on CB Insights Research.

This spending is creating opportunities for growth across the AI data center value chain.

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Despite these declines, $100M+ mega-rounds comprised 51% of total CVC-backed funding in Q3’24, a notable increase from a quarterly average of 37% in 2023. Meanwhile, two-thirds of CVC deals this year have gone to early-stage companies, highlighting a strategic shift toward more emerging opportunities, especially in AI.

Based on our deep dive in the full report, here is the TL;DR on the state of CVC:

• ​​Global CVC-backed funding drops 5% to $15.7B in Q3’24. Nevertheless, that figure is still the second-highest quarterly level since the beginning of 2023. Meanwhile, a 10% QoQ decline to 773 deals — the lowest total since 2018 — suggests that CVCs are increasingly selective, similar to the wider venture market.

• The average CVC-backed deal size has increased 31% so far this year to $27.1M, highlighting investors’ willingness to take risks when they find the right opportunity. However, the median deal size remains the same as last year at $8M, signaling that investors are only more aggressive regarding the largest deals.

• Funding to CVC-backed mega-rounds (deals worth $100M+) represents 51% of total funding in Q3’24. This percentage — roughly in line with the first 2 quarters of 2024 — is up significantly from an average of 37% in 2023, further suggesting that investors are currently willing to make large bets when they decide to invest.
• Early-stage rounds represent 66% of total CVC deal share this year, the highest level in over a decade. CVCs are increasingly focused on early-stage startups, likely driven by the record levels of AI funding and the fact that, across investor types, 72% of deals to AI companies this year are early-stage.

• CVC-backed funding in the US ticks up to $10.5B. Among major global regions, the US continued to lead in CVC-backed funding in Q3’24, followed by Europe at $2.6B and Asia at $1.3B. Within the US, defense tech provider Anduril raised the largest CVC-backed deal with its $1.5B Series F round (CVC investors include Franklin Venture Partners), followed by AI chip developer Groq with its $640M Series D round (backed by Samsung Catalyst).

MORE VENTURE RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS

• State of CVC Q2’24 Report
• State of Venture Q3’24 Report
• State of Fintech Q3’24 Report
• State of Digital Health Q3’24 Report

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While AI deals in Q3’24 included massive $1B+ rounds to defense tech provider Anduril and AI lab Safe Superintelligence, global AI funding actually dropped by 29% QoQ. This was driven by a 77% decline in funding from $1B+ AI rounds QoQ.

Based on our deep dive in the full report, here is the TL;DR on the state of AI:

• Global AI deal count climbs 24% QoQ to reach 1,245 — its highest quarterly level since peaking in Q1’22. This bucked the trend in overall venture deals (-10% QoQ), signaling that investor interest in AI remains strong despite the broader cooling in venture markets. AI funding, on the other hand, fell by 29% QoQ to $16.8B, driven by a 77% decline in funding from $1B+ AI rounds QoQ. 

• The average AI deal size is $23.5M in 2024 so far — up 28% vs. $18.4M in full-year 2023. This upward trend has been influenced by a rise in massive $1B+ deals, with AI startups drawing 9 of these deals in 2024 so far vs. 4 in full-year 2023. Top $1B+ rounds in 2024 YTD include: 
  • xAI — $6B Series B at a $24B valuation
  • Anthropic — $2.8B Series D at an $18.4B valuation
  • Anduril — $1.5B Series F at a $14B valuation
  • G42 — $1.5B investment from Microsoft
  • CoreWeave — $1.1B Series C at a $19B valuation

These deals aren’t solely responsible for pushing up the average — the median AI deal size is up 9% in 2024 so far.

• AI unicorn births more than double QoQ to reach 13 — 54% of the broader venture total in Q3’24. Generative AI continues to be a key theme for new unicorns (private companies reaching $1B+ valuations). More than half of the AI unicorns born in Q3’24 are genAI startups, and they are working across a variety of areas — including AI for 3D environments (World Labs), code generation (Codeium), and legal workflow automation (Harvey).

Among new genAI unicorns in Q3’24, Safe Superintelligence — co-founded by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever — landed the most sizable valuation. The AI lab was valued at $5B after raising a $1B Series A round in September 2024.

• AI M&A exits fall by 48% QoQ to hit 62 in Q3’24. The deals that did occur showcase how enterprises are strategically scooping up AI startups to improve their offerings and maintain a competitive edge. For example, the largest AI M&A deal in Q3’24 was AMD’s acquisition of AI lab Silo AI, which could help the semiconductor company enhance the development and deployment of AI models on its hardware. Meanwhile, Salesforce picked up unstructured data management startup Zoomin to support its AI agent offerings.

• Among major global regions, the US continues to lead in AI funding and deals. AI startups based in the US drew $11.4B across 566 deals in Q3’24, accounting for over two-thirds of global AI funding and 45% of global AI deals. Within the US, Silicon Valley still dominates AI funding and deals, but other metros are gaining ground. In Q3’24, Los Angeles and New York saw their AI deal counts rise QoQ while Silicon Valley watched its count drop for the second quarter straight.

ADDITIONAL AI RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS:

• State of AI Q2’24 Report
• State of Venture Q3’24 Report
• Game Changers 2025: 9 technologies that will change the world
• The Multi-Agent AI Outlook: Here’s what you need to know about the next major development in genAI
• Analyzing a16z’s AI investment strategy: Where the firm sees opportunity amid the genAI rush
• The AI computing hardware market map

The post State of AI Q3’24 Report appeared first on CB Insights Research.

What you need to know:

• Autonomous vehicle (AV) systems providers are using genAI to boost in-car voice assistant capabilities, reduce training costs, and improve safety and transparency.

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For companies interested in the future of fintech, these startups — working on everything from deploying novel AI solutions across the landscape to expanding access to financial services — should be on your radar for partnership and investment opportunities.

The list primarily includes early- and mid-stage startups driving innovation across fintech. Our research team picked winning companies based on CB Insights datasets, including deal activity, industry partnerships, team strength, investor strength, employee headcount, and proprietary Commercial Maturity and Mosaic scores. We also dug into Analyst Briefings submitted directly to us by startups.

Please click to enlarge.

Here is a summary of the 2024 Fintech 100 cohort highlights:

• The 100 winners include 13 wealth management companies, 11 in embedded finance, and 10 in insurance.
• $7.2B in equity funding raised over time, including more than $2B in 2024 so far (as of 10/23/2024).
• Nearly 50% are early-stage companies (primarily seed/angel or Series A).
• 52 companies from outside the United States, across 23 countries on 6 continents. This includes 17 companies from 11 emerging and developing economies.
• 850+ business relationships since 2022, including with industry leaders like Mastercard, State Street, and Flipkart.

Companies are categorized by their primary focus area and client base. Categories in the market map are not mutually exclusive.

CB Insights customers can interact with the entire Fintech 100 list here and view a detailed category breakdown using the Expert Collection.

2024 FINTECH 100 COHORT HIGHLIGHTS

Funding and valuations

The 2024 Fintech 100 winners have raised $7.2B across 370+ disclosed equity deals to date (as of 10/23/2024).

Gaming payments company Coda Payments and rent rewards company Bilt Rewards lead all winners in disclosed equity funding (with $715M and $560M in funding, respectively). 

In 2024 so far, this year’s winners have raised just over $2B across 72 disclosed equity deals.

Three winners have raised mega-rounds ($100M+ deals) in 2024 so far: 

• Bilt Rewards — $200M Series C, $150M Series C – II
• Akur8 — $120M Series C
• FundGuard — $100M Series C

Just 5 companies on this year’s list have reached unicorn status (a $1B+ valuation). Amid the broader venture slowdown, just one winner has hit unicorn status in 2024 so far: Pennylane, a France-based financial management and accounting platform for businesses.

Customers: explore all Fintech 100 deals

Stage breakdown and commercial maturity

Nearly half — 48 — of this year’s Fintech 100 winners are early-stage companies (primarily seed/angel or Series A).

More than 60% of the companies on the list (62) have a CB Insights Commercial Maturity score — which measures a private company’s current ability to compete for customers or serve as a partner — of 4, or Scaling. This indicates they are gaining market traction and growing clients, partners, headcount, and revenue. 

Twenty-six winners have a score of 3, or Deploying, which means they have validated ideas and are beginning commercial distribution.

Top investors

Plug and Play Ventures leads all venture capital (VC) firms, including CVC firms, in the number of winners backed. The 2024 Fintech 100 companies in its portfolio operate across financial management and accounting (Finally), capital markets (FundGuard), payment acceptance (AiFi, Fintoc), banking (Tuum), wealth management (Boldin), and payroll (WorkPay). 

Meanwhile, General Catalyst leads in the total number of investments in the 2024 Fintech 100, as it has invested 13 times across 6 companies. It has invested in Bilt Rewards, financial management & accounting firm Collective, alternative credit scoring company Nova Credit, cross-border payments platform Finom, student loan management platform Summer, and AI agent Powder.

Geographic distribution

Just over half (52) of this year’s Fintech 100 winners are based outside of the United States. The United Kingdom leads all non-US countries with 12 winners, and Canada and Singapore are tied for second with 6 companies each. 

Seventeen companies on this year’s list come from 11 emerging and developing economies (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kenya, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Thailand, and Uruguay). Many of these winners are focused on solutions driving financial inclusion and accessibility for groups like small businesses and consumers building their credit.

Headcount growth

This year’s Fintech 100 winners collectively employ more than 18,000 people. Median year-over-year headcount growth is more than 30%.

Bilt leads all winners with $3.1M in equity funding per employee. Embedded finance company Brim Financial, blockchain company Fnality, and Coda Payments are tied for second with $1.6M per employee.

Company health

Eighty-three of this year’s winning companies have a CB Insights Mosaic score — a proprietary measure of private company health and growth potential — of at least 700 out of 1,000 (as of 10/23/24). Compared to all private companies — fintechs or otherwise — with Mosaic scores, these 83 winners rank in the top 4% by Mosaic score. 

Bilt Rewards leads the cohort with a score of 952. Nova Credit and Arta are tied for second with 883.

Winners deploy AI across a variety of use cases

AI’s dominance in the venture market and broader tech conversations is reflected in this year’s Fintech 100 cohort. 

Several winners have developed AI solutions to automate financial services operations. For example, Alkymi and Saphyre are among the handful of companies using AI to analyze and extract data from financial documents.

But winners are also deploying AI within specific financial services sectors, including embedded finance, compliance, and insurance.

For instance, Gynger uses AI and data analytics to quickly approve and underwrite financing. The company is backed by PayPal Ventures and Google’s AI-focused venture arm Gradient Ventures. 

Meanwhile, Norm Ai offers AI agents for compliance teams, enabling them to assess content or actions against regulatory requirements. The company raised a $27M Series A round in June 2024 from investors including Bain Capital Ventures and Citi Ventures.

Delos Insurance Solutions, on the other hand, issues property insurance and analyzes satellite data using AI to identify areas with greater wildfire risk. Its founders’ backgrounds in the space industry inform their approach to data gathering via satellite.

Fintechs gear solutions toward financial inclusion and accessibility

Many of this year’s winners are focused on making financial services and technology more accessible to growing customer segments. 

Small businesses are a focus worldwide. This year’s list includes solutions like Sequoia Capital– and Founders Fund-backed Found, which offers banking for self-employed people and small business owners. Meanwhile, Pakistan-based NayaPay offers financial management for consumers as well as small businesses. Singapore-based YouTrip also has both B2C and B2B platforms for cross-border payments, focusing its B2B services on small businesses in southeast Asia. 

Companies in this year’s cohort are also targeting consumers building their financial profiles and wealth. US-based MAJORITY allows individuals to get banked in the US without social security numbers. OTO, meanwhile, offers loans for electric bike and scooter purchases in India. Banks are hesitant to finance the purchases despite strong government support for the vehicles, so the massive consumer market is turning to fintechs.

Meanwhile, companies like Bilt Rewards and CheQ are helping consumers manage their credit and build toward major purchases in different ways. Bilt converts rent payments into points that can be redeemed toward a down payment on a home, and it can also send renters’ on-time payment reports to credit bureaus. 

In India, where credit cards have lower penetration but are growing quickly, CheQ helps consumers pay off all of their credit cards and earn rewards on one digital platform. It aims to support users who are new to the credit system and offers free credit reports and tips on managing credit. The company recently announced a partnership with India’s e-commerce giant Flipkart to enable consumers to earn extra points on purchases during Flipkart’s sale event.

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